The whole world is on fire. The sun rises through smoke filled clouds. The mountains have no details today. Just distant silhouettes. My dog and I do a speed hike in the early morning hours. The heat keeps breaking records. It’s June and we have seen 100+ degree days for nearly two weeks in a row. This is not normal here.
There’s no water. Wells and watering holes are drying up. So are the rivers and reservoirs. Old bones are scattered through the arroyo.
Did they die of thirst? What greenery there was has been burned up by the blazing, white hot sun and blown away by the relentless wind.
The sun use to be my friend. As a child, I would look up at the yellow orb and smile at it’s gentle, comforting warmth. Now it seems as if the sun is angry. It’s rays are painful to the skin and deadly to plants. I hide from it now.
By noon, it’s unbearable. I’ve had to put shade cloth over my entire garden. Even the plants that thrive in full sun are being burned alive. Their leaves turning purple and red and then brown and crunchy. I’ve noticed it on trees as well. The UV index has been at 12 lately. I’ve never seen it that high. What is it doing to our skin? The faded paint on my old truck tells me.
Nomadic Farmer 